57 THE STONES

CHAPTER 57 THE STONES At first light, Roz nudged Brightbill awake, and the travelers continued north through the mountains. The goose stood on his mother's shoulder as she marched. His eyes darted around nervously, searching for any sign of the wolves. But the wolves were gone. And our friends turned their attention to a new problem. The weather out there was always changing. Roz and Brightbill had seen many calm, sunny days suddenly turn to wind or fog or sleet, or even snow. Our friends expected bad weather, so they hardly noticed when heavy rain came sweeping down a valley. But there was something odd about this rain. Brightbill squinted at the oncoming storm and said, "Ma, why is the rain bouncing off the ground?" Bouncing rain? That didn't seem right. The robot's computer brain went to work and she found the correct word. "That is not rain," she said. "That is hail."

第五十七章石头天一亮，罗兹就把布莱特比尔推醒了，他们继续向北穿过群山。 母鹅站在妈妈的肩膀上。 他紧张地扫视四周，寻找狼群的踪迹。 但是狼已经走了。我们的朋友们把注意力转向了一个新问题。 外面的天气总是在变。 罗兹和布莱特比尔曾见过许多风平浪静、阳光明媚的日子突然变成刮风、起雾、下雨夹雪，甚至下雪。 我们的朋友预料到会有坏天气，所以当大雨席卷山谷时，他们几乎没有注意到。 但是这场雨有点奇怪。 布莱特比尔眯着眼睛看着即将到来的暴风雨，说：“妈妈，为什么雨水在地上反弹？”跳跃的雨吗? 这似乎不对。机器人的计算机大脑开始工作，她找到了正确的单词。 “那不是雨，”她说。 “那是冰雹。”

CLANG! A hailstone bounced off Roz's chest. Another one swooshed into the weeds. Then the sky opened up and hailstones were everywhere. They tore through leaves and branches. They ricocheted off rocks and roots. They flattened flowers and bushes. To the robot, the hailstones were annoying. To the goose, they were deadly. A stone hit Brightbill's shoulder and he fell to the ground. Roz scooped him up, hunching over, protecting him from the falling stones, but the hailstorm might kill the poor bird if they couldn't find cover soon. Frantically, the robot scanned the area for any type of shelter. And there it was. On the far side of the valley, beside a winding river, was a cabin. It was old and shabby, but it had a roof, and that's what our friends needed most. Roz held her son close, pumped her legs, and thundered across the valley. Heavy hailstones hissed into the grass and squelched into the mud and clanged off our robot. There was a soft thump, and Brightbill cried out in pain. Roz bounded over the rushing river in a single leap, landed without breaking stride, and kept running. Now she could hear hailstones cracking against the cabin, louder and louder. The robot

铿锵声!一块冰雹从罗兹的胸前弹开。 另一个嗖的一声飞进了草丛。 然后，天空豁然开朗，到处都是冰雹。 他们撕扯着树叶和树枝。 它们在岩石和树根上反弹。 他们把花和灌木夷为平地。 对机器人来说，冰雹很烦人。 对鹅来说，它们是致命的。 一块石头击中了布莱特比尔的肩膀，他倒在了地上。 罗兹把它抱起来，弯着腰，保护它不被落下的石头砸到，但如果他们不能尽快找到掩体，冰雹可能会杀死这只可怜的鸟。 机器人疯狂地搜索着这片区域，寻找任何类型的庇护所。 它就在那里。在山谷的另一边，一条蜿蜒的河流旁边，有一间小屋。 它又旧又破，但它有一个屋顶，这正是我们的朋友最需要的。 罗兹紧紧抱着儿子，跺着腿，轰隆隆地穿过山谷。 沉重的冰雹嘶嘶地打在草地上，压在泥土里，撞坏了我们的机器人。 “砰”的一声轻响，布莱特比尔痛苦地叫了起来。 罗兹一跃而起，跳过湍急的河水，没有放慢脚步，继续奔跑。 现在她能听到冰雹打在小屋上，声音越来越大。 机器人

stomped up to the front door, turned the handle, and stepped inside.

迈着沉重的步子走到前门，转动门把手，走了进去。